Waking Up In Vegas
by TheTruthIsInsideOfYou
Summary: After things go bad with Hank, Catherine is Sara's shoulder to lean on. When they go out for a night on the town and wake up married, will Sara finally get a taste of happiness or will Catherine be another in a line of mistakes?
1. The Setup

**A/N: So, I don't know how long I've had this story rolling around in my head, but it's been there for at least a year. I was cleaning out my room for the summer when I found and old notebook with the interesting conversation in the second chapter and all the ideas and more I had came rushing back to me. The dialogue in the first section does not belong to me and I don't own CSI.**

Sara entered the SUV where Catherine was sitting, already waiting for her with the radio turned on. She buckled herself in and prepared for the round of questions she was sure were coming from the older women. She was pleasantly surprised, however with what came next.

"You got plans?" Catherine turned to ask her colleague.

Sara responded with a one word answer. "Nope."

"Wanna get a beer?"

Her lips twitched upwards as she replied, "Drive."

The silence between them was slightly awkward now, with no co-workers around or the pretense of work hanging over them. Catherine was the first to break the silence with a question.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was serious as she looked the brunette in the eyes.

"I'm fi-" Sara began, before being cut off with a withering glare from Catherine. "I don't know anymore Cath, I mean I thought I was… but you know… How could I have been so stupid?" She sighed and shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I mean you saw it right away and I just didn't want to believe it. Makes me wonder if this is all just pointless."

Catherine looked confused. "If what is pointless? If you're talking about love honey, you're asking the wrong woman. Men are nothing but trouble."

Sara nodded as she drank the rest of her beer. The silence was thick between them and it became apparent that Sara wouldn't answer her question.

"You ever seen the nightlife here in Vegas Sara? You've been here, what three years now?" Catherine asked as she played with the label of her beer.

"Nope. Never had time." Sara shrugged, as if she didn't care much about it.

Catherine's eyes went wide. "You mean to tell me that you've been here for _three years_ and never been to the strip?"

Sara shook her head sheepishly, "Unless we have a case, then no I haven't. I don't see what's so special about a bunch of casinos trying to take your money and it's not like there's anything to do but gamble…" She trailed off as she signaled to the waitress, making her walk over.

"Two shots. Tequila."

Catherine's eyebrow rose at the order. "Trying to get me drunk Sidle?"

"No!" Sara protested before seeing the quirk of Cath's lips and realizing her co-worker was teasing.

"Since you've never done any of the typical Vegas sightseeing honey, we're doing that next." Catherine's smile was large, teasing now. "It's not all gambling and casinos; trust me, I've been here long enough."

The waitress had returned with their shots and Cath quickly ordered two more before downing her first shot.

"I'll make you have fun tonight if it's the last thing I do." She winked at her younger colleague.

"I'm already having fun Cat." Sara replied using the shortened name even though she knew the older woman hated it.

"Going out for a beer after finding out your boyfriend has been using you with a colleague you argue with every day is fun Sidle? We really need to broaden your horizons." She replied laughing. "Starting with getting you to loosen up."

Their second round of shots had come and Catherine was quite content to stare at the younger woman until a familiar beat came from the speakers. She began to bob to the beat and when she turned to look at the younger woman, there was a small amount of trepidation in Sara's eyes.

"No." she stated as if she knew what Catherine was going to ask. "I need a bit more alcohol before I go around shaking my body to some random pop song."

If she thought that would discourage Catherine she was highly mistaken. The redheaded woman simply flagged down the waitress.

"Two more rounds for us. And make hers double shots." She gestured to the brunette and smirked at Sara's wide eyed expression. "You just got your heart broken honey. We're going to have a night to remember. And before it's all over, I will make you dance with me."

"I wouldn't say my heart was broken Cath… And there is absolutely NO way I'll dance with you. Nothing you do would possibly convince me to do that."

Sara had a grin on her face as she said this, as though she was teasing. Catherine grinned back at her, accepting the challenge.


	2. The Morning After

**A/N: So, here's the second chapter of this story. Please, any constructive criticism is welcome. **

Sara smelled a sweet, strawberry-like perfume as she rose into consciousness… The throbbing of her head was in time with the… ringing? A phone. She didn't recognize the ringtone but with the amount she'd had to drink last night anything was possible. She groped for the source, finally finding it inside a discarded pair of jeans.

"Sidle." She practically groaned into the receiver.

"Sara?" The confused voice of her supervisor Gilbert Grissom came through the phone. "I could have sworn I dialed Catherine."

Shit. "Uh…" she looked around, finding the answer curled around her in bed. She swallowed hard before beginning to speak again. "You did."

Silence met her answer.

"She and I went out for a drink last night, I'm on her couch. She must have left it down here before she went to bed." Sara prayed her story would be believed by the socially awkward man. There was a long awkward pause before a reply.

"Well, tell her that I need her out here at the French Palace to work a case. Since you're with her you might as well take the case too. Two 419s. I need you both there in 15 minutes."

Sara groaned, running her hand through her hair. "Yeah, sure Griss. We'll be there as soon as we can." She hung up, wondering how she would be able to extricate herself from this situation.

It wasn't like she hadn't woken up naked with a woman before. Far from it. But this was Catherine, her often enemy and the woman whose husband's murder Sara couldn't solve just weeks earlier. They were sprawled out in Sara's apartment and she took a moment to look around the room before facing the sleeping dragon.

There was clothing littering the floor, what looked like a ripped piece of lacy underwear on the bedside lamp, and her dresser looked like a hurricane had ripped past.

"Shit." Sara muttered. She grabbed the first piece of clothing she could find and slipped into Catherine's blouse, going to the kitchen to brew some coffee.

Ten minutes, and several glasses of water and painkillers later Sara returned to the bedroom with two mugs of coffee in hand.

She set them down on the table, gently shaking the shorter woman.

"Catherine?"

"Mmmm." Catherine turned away, burying herself deeper into the sheets and reaching towards the empty side of the bed.

Sara chuckled before trying again.

"Catherine." Her voice was firmer, trying to wake her obviously exhausted colleague. "Come on honey, you have to wake up."

"Don't wanna." She mumbled, mostly unaware of her surroundings. "I'm tired and it's comfy here." Her voice trailed off.

"Grissom called. We're needed at a scene." Sara replied as she walked through her room, picking up her clothing and getting dressed.

"Ugh." Catherine groaned as she rubbed a hand over her face. "What the hell happened last night?" She spoke before she opened her eyes. As soon as she noticed the state of the room she froze.

"Oh no… please…. Don't tell me…" Her eyes widened in panic as she took in the scene between them.

"Catherine?" Sara questioned, amazed at the turn in Catherine's behavior since she'd realized where she was.

"We didn't?" Catherine asked as she pulled the sheets over her chest.

"Honestly," Sara replied, "I have no idea what happened, but the evidence…"

Catherine sat up in bed and dropped her head into her hands. "Why did this have to happen to me…? Why now? I thought I'd left all this behind…" She nervously looked up and began to fiddle with a piece of jewelry on her left ring finger. It looked suspiciously familiar to Sara.

Sara stopped what she was doing and looked down to her own hand. She felt the cold rush of fear run through her as she took in the design of the ring. It looked as if she had done something stupid**. **They had obviously done something really really really Vegas style stupid.

"Come on, Grissom called a half hour ago. We're supposed to be at the scene by now." Sara halfheartedly tossed Catherine her clothes and turned to leave the room, grabbing a coffee cup. She was nearly to the door when a question from the bed stopped her in her tracks.

"Sidle," Catherine's voice was low, nearly deadly, "what the _hell _happened to my panties?"

Sara felt her face turning red with embarrassment at the question which surprised her as they should be passed this awkward stage. They had last night.

"Look at the lamp shade." She walked out of the room, willing her face not to turn any redder.

Five minutes later, Catherine walked into the living room wearing different clothes than yesterday. Sara raised an eyebrow at that.

"Did you… Take my clothes?" she asked, almost as if she was staring at something she couldn't quite believe.

"Well mine weren't in any usable state. You'll be paying for that later Sidle." Her voice had a frosty edge to it that told Sara these next few hours would be her own personal hell.

"Come on," Sara spoke timidly, "Grissom will be wondering what's keeping us. It's been nearly twice as long as I told him." She grabbed the keys from Catherine's hand and picked up her spare kit not thinking twice about it.

The drive to the club was filled with an awkward silence, and after five minutes of Catherine ignoring her attempts at small talk Sara turned on the radio and fell into her own world. As soon as the car rolled to a stop Catherine practically ran out of the car and across the tape. Sara sighed, resting her head on the steering wheel for a moment before following the red head with their gear.

"-And she came out after work to find these two women dead in the alley." Brass was finishing describing the scene to Catherine as Sara walked up.

"Cath, you forgot this in the car." Catherine jumped as Sara handed the red head a kit and she promptly walked away.

Sara's eyes followed the retreating form until she heard Brass' voice again.

"What the hell happened between the two of you?" He was staring with narrowed eyes at Sara. "Get in a fight on the way over? Grissom mentioned you were at her house this morning."

Sara opened her eyes wider for a moment before muttering, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She walked off to start on the perimeter.

Two hours later and they were still processing the scene with Catherine not having spoken to Sara once, going as far as to work on the opposite end of the scene every time they passed by. It was beginning to piss Sara off. She was sure last night wasn't that bad if the soreness of her muscles indicated anything. Obviously Catherine had a problem with what had happened and she was going to take it out on her. She silently resolved to speak with the older woman after they were finished here.


	3. Of Pizza and Coffee

**A/N: Three updates in one week! This is what I do during my free time at college. So here is the third chapter in this installment of the story. I still don't own CSI or any of the characters :(**

"Jesus Christ Sara! What happened last night?" Catherine exclaimed as they entered her house from their 419.

"I think it's kind of obvious, don't you Catherine?" Sara shot back snarkily. "We slept together and at some point…." She trailed off gesticulating to the ring on Catherine's finger.

"Well, I got that part." Catherine practically growled. She sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through her shoulder length auburn hair before speaking again. "I mean how did we even… That hasn't… It's been years… Since I quit… I didn't even know you-" she let the sentence hang before she abruptly walked into the kitchen.

"I think, we're going to need some coffee for this." She moved around the kitchen muscles tensed as she tried to avoid looking at the other woman in her house.

Sara studied Catherine as she sat on a barstool trying to formulate a response. It seemed like Catherine was more upset with herself than Sara or the situation.

"Cath?" she queried, trying to the older woman's attention gently. "Hey Catherine." She waited until the other woman stilled and began to speak.

"We need to sort this out, yeah, but right now I need to go home and get ready for work tonight and you need to get some sleep." Sara rose from her seat, moving to place her arm gently around the other woman's shoulder and guided her into the living room. Catherine leaned into the comforting gesture and felt herself relax.

"I'll drive the Tahoe to my place and come back in a few hours so we can have this discussion, okay?" Her voice was low as she looked into Catherine's eyes, making sure the other woman was okay with her plan.

"Yeah," Catherine let her breath out, "Yeah, that's a- a good idea." She stood, leading Sara towards the door as she slipped the keys to the SUV into her hands.

"I'll see you in a few hours." The smile on her face was tight and not even convincing to her. To Sara it seemed like a goodbye.

Sara opened the door to her apartment slowly, as if unsure what she would find. Logically she knew that there would be a mess, but she believed that somehow maybe, she could walk in and find out that it was all just a dream, a figment of a very overactive, tortuous imagination.

Her apartment was the same as they had left it. In total disarray. Now she was beginning to wonder just what had happened. She ran her left hand through her hair as she stepped deeper into the apartment, noticing the disarrayed state of the living room as she felt and unfamiliar sensation in her hair. Metal.

"Fuck." She muttered. It appeared that she had done something stupid last night. Well aside from sleeping with a co-worker. She should have learned something the last time that happened. She thought she had… Grissom, well that didn't end well. Even though back then he was just consulting with San Francisco.

To focus on the case at hand. What happened last night between the Bellagio and waking up this morning here in Sara's apartment? Which if the rings and state of her room were any indication, she was screwed bigtime. Married. To someone she absolutely hated. Obviously though, she hadn't hated her the night before. If only there was some way for her to know what they had done last night or talked about that had led them to come here, pick up the matching wedding bands and then head to one of Vegas' many wedding chapels.

She had a bigger problem than the actions of last night, and that was Catherine's reactions this morning. The woman had gone from angry at Sara to becoming angry at herself for something that Sara didn't understand. But then again, Sara had grown up in California and lived in San Francisco for most of her adult life. She shook her head. Catherine was a problem she could address later, at the older woman's house. Right now she had to focus on her feelings and clean up the war zone her apartment had become.

Catherine sat on her couch, the picture of stillness. Her head was in her hands as she silently ran through every moment she could remember from the previous night. Where had she gone wrong? She had sworn to herself that once she got clean and stopped dancing this would never happen again. It had been over a decade since she had even had a romantic thought about another woman, not since she had broken it off with Stephanie and the woman had been murdered later that night, a victim of Catherine's addiction, both to Eddie and cocaine. It was just easier to be with a man. But screw all of her internal ramblings. What would she do to correct the situation with Sara? She knew that her reactions had undoubtedly scared and confused the younger woman and after the betrayal and drama with Hank and the way that they were now closer to a friendship than they had been after Eddie's murder investigation she didn't want another setback.

Though she was questioning one thing: why had Sara not been surprised when she went to wake Catherine? She'd seemed more embarrassed than anything but only after she'd seen the rings and Catherine's question about her underwear.

Which brought her to a new problem. The rings. What the hell had she been thinking last night? In the years since her and Eddie's divorce she'd never once contemplated getting married again. The thought of marriage had only brought back memories of slaps, drug addiction, and yelling. Until last night. Something had happened between her and Sara that made them, her especially, feel safe enough to drunkenly marry. The idea that it took a few shots before she fell into bed with a co-worker she fought with nearly every day was something that took a while for her to wrap her mind around.

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, feeling the wild curls and decided perhaps a shower was in order. It seemed as though she did her best thinking in the shower.

Feeling both refreshed and more confused than ever Catherine decided perhaps sleep would provide the answers that she was looking for, or at least delay the inevitable conversation and revelations that would happen upon Sara's return. It wasn't that she didn't want to face what that conversation would bring, but rather that she was scared of what the conversation could mean for their fragile friendship and working relationship. If she screwed it up, she couldn't bear to think what that would mean for both the team and her. She knew that Sara tended to run, or at least distance herself from the things which she didn't want to hear or be a part of and Catherine was scared that she would do the same to her. Which should have answered most of her questions about her feelings and what she wanted to do, but no one said that thinking logically about a perhaps life-changing decision was easy when one was in denial and still hung over.

When Sara pulled up to Catherine's house, she was surprised to see the lights off and the house quiet. She thought that by 4 pm Lindsay would be home or at the least Catherine would be waking up for work. A hot spike of fear shot through her as she remembered Catherine's parting smile and words. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she took a deep breath before she turned the car off and stepped out. She was halfway to the porch when she heard another car pull to a stop in the driveway and a chattering young girl stepped out. Lindsay was home. The last time she had seen the little girl was the day of Eddie's murder. She turned around and watched as the tiny blonde ran up the steps and collided with her.

"Sara!" she exclaimed, "I haven't seen you in a long time!" Sara awkwardly patted the child on the back as she turned her attention to the woman who was now joining them on the porch.

The woman had the same color hair as Catherine but was slightly taller. This must be her sister Nancy, the woman who watched Lindsay most days.

"Hey, you must be Nancy. I'm Sara. Sara Sidle. Catherine's co-worker."  
>Nancy had an amused smile on her face as she watched Sara babble her introduction.<p>

"It's nice to finally put a face to a name Sara. Linds, why don't you let go of Sara and open the door."

The young girl was giggling at Sara but did as her aunt requested.

"Are you going to hang out with me and mommy before work Sara? We're going to watch a Disney movie and eat some popcorn until mommy has to leave. Maybe you can convince her to order some pizza and have soda too!" The girl walked them inside, talking a mile a minute as Sara smiled down at her.

"Sure, it's been a long time since I've watched one of those movies. Let me go find your mommy and ask her if she wants me to stay."

Lindsay took off heading towards the living room as Sara stood in the hallway with Nancy.

She turned to Sara and gestured to Lindsay, "She's been excited all day about coming home to do this." Nancy checked her watch. "Crap, if you don't mind could you tell Cath I said hello? I've got to go pick up my son from his soccer practice." The other blonde was out the door before Sara even replied.

She looked through the kitchen and found Lindsay in the living room.

"Do you know where you mommy might be?" she asked, curious as to where Catherine could be.

Lindsay looked up with a look that seemed to say 'are you stupid?' "Mommy's probably still asleep. Aunt Nancy usually wakes her up when she leaves."

"Oh." Sara couldn't help but frown at that news. This would be the second time that day that she'd have to wake Catherine up. The first time hadn't turned out so well. She hoped this time would be different but she still had no idea as to how the older woman felt or what she was thinking. She walked back into the kitchen and began to search for the coffee and cups.

After five minutes of fruitless searching she called for Lindsay.

"Do you know where your mom keeps the coffee?" she asked as she opened the fifth cabinet, finding nothing but cereal in that one. Lindsay laughed at the confused look on Sara's face before opening the freezer to reveal a bag of beans waiting to be ground.

"So Sara," Lindsay began, "what kind of pizza do you like?"

Sara blinked twice before answering the question as she ground the coffee beans.

"Vegetarian. With extra broccoli and mushrooms." Lindsay's face scrunched up at that.

"You like vegetables? That's gross!" The nine year old looked at Sara as though she was an alien.

Sara couldn't help the laugh that sounded through her at Lindsay's response.

"What kind of pizza do you like to eat then Lindsay?" Sara asked as she waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

"Well," she began, "I like thin crust and pepperoni with pineapple." Her face looked as though she was thinking, "Oh, and my favorite is the deep dish pepperoni from Pizza Hut!"

"Well it seems like we wouldn't like each other's pizza then Linds, I'm a vegetarian so I only eat vegetables. But I do like thin crust pizza."

"You don't eat meat? But how can you not like hamburgers? They taste soooo good!" Lindsay seemed confused at Sara's statement.

Sara poured the finished coffee into two mugs and turned to face Lindsay.

"Do you want to come wake your mom up with me? Maybe we can convince her to buy us some pizza for dinner huh?" The young blonde looked excited as she led the way up the stairs and into Catherine's bedroom.

She jumped into the bed and proceeded to shake her mother. "Mom! Mom! Wake up Mom!"

The only action that resulted from that was Catherine burrowing her head deeper into the pillows. After a few minutes of nothing, Lindsay shrugged and looked at Sara.

"Maybe you can wake her up. She must be really tired cause she usually wakes up when I do that Sara." Lindsay explained, getting off the bed to stand next to Sara.

Sara looked skeptical at Lindsay's words, but nevertheless moved closer to the sleeping blonde. As she had done earlier that morning she placed the coffee on the nightstand and sat down next the sleeping woman. She gently shook the older woman and whispered for her to wake up. The resulting groan made Lindsay's eyes widen and the little girl started to laugh.  
>"Mommy's going to be grumpy when she wakes up. She's always grumpy when I wake her up and she does that."<p>

Sara found herself staring at the sleeping beauty. Catherine had a wide smile on her peaceful face and Sara noted the woman was still wearing her borrowed clothing.

"Come on Cath," she shook her gently again, "I've got coffee for you if you wake up. And there's an impatient little girl here waiting to see her mom."

Catherine's body began to stretch out, her left hand running through her hair and the other rubbing her eyes as she rolled over to face Sara.

The smell and mention of coffee is what seemed to wake the older woman up. She cracked one eye open to see the figure of Sara on her bed and the other opened in quick succession. She quickly sat up and saw her daughter beside the woman whom she had been trying not to think about.

"Hi." She mumbled to Sara and turned to look at her daughter. "Hey honey, come give mommy a hug."

Lindsay crawled into her mother's bed and sat down next to her.

"You must have been really tired mommy. Me and Sara were trying to wake you up foreevveerr. What did you do last night?" The question caused Catherine's face to flame as she looked at Sara and then back to her daughter.

"Hey Linds, didn't you have something you wanted to ask your mom?" Sara cut in as she felt a matching blush heating up her face.

"Oh yeah! Mommy, can Sara stay here and watch our movie with us? We can order pizza too so you don't have to cook, then you can go to work."

Catherine was torn. She wanted time to talk to Sara about what happened and what she needed to tell the younger woman, but if she kicked her out to have time with her daughter she'd have to find a ride to work from another colleague and it would send the wrong message to Sara. Not that she knew what message she wanted to send. But she sure didn't want her to leave the house while the subject of their… indiscretion was still untouched.

After a few seconds of silence Sara assumed that Catherine had decided that she was not going to talk to the woman tonight and she cut in.

"It's okay Cath, I can head in to work early and I'll come get you after your movi-"

"No!" Catherine exclaimed, sounding sharper than she meant. "I mean, Linds why don't you go pick out a movie and Sara can order us some pizza." She sent a nervous smile to her brunette counterpart silently asking her to stay for the movie.

Sara couldn't help the grin that lit up her face. They would have to discuss what had happened last night eventually, but the redhead wasn't shutting her out of her house yet.

"Where do you want to order pizza from Lindsay?" Sara asked as the energetic girl practically ran out of the room to get a movie.

"Pizza Hut!" was the fading answer.

Now that they were alone in Catherine's bedroom the silence turned awkward and Sara turned away to pick up a cup of coffee.

"So," she began, "we need to talk." Her eyes ventured from the inside of the coffee cup to study the woman still in bed. Catherine nodded as she reached for her own mug.

"But that can wait until my daughter isn't around. This isn't something that she needs to hear. That her mother got drunk and married a colleague she can hardly go hours without arguing with." The self deprecating tone was back in Catherine's voice.

"Yeah," Sara whispered. "It will be fine Cath, don't worry. I don't expect you to stay married to me… I mean who would want to." She got off the bed and walked to the doorway.

"What kind of pizza do you want me to order for you?" she asked as she stood awkwardly in the doorway.

Crap. Catherine felt awful for her words. If not what she said, how she'd said it. "I'll uh, just have whatever you'll have. And Lindsay will have a-"

"Deep dish pepperoni." Sara answered as she walked down the stairs.


	4. Something There

**A/N: So, here's the next part in our girls story. Once again, I don't own CSI. (Or Beauty and the Beast). This is the last chapter that I have that was pre-written, so the next update may take another week or two. **

Catherine groaned and let her head fall back onto the pillow as she watched Sara's defeated walk out of her room.

"Fuck!" she exclaimed, the frustration at both herself and the situation finally coming out. She sat the coffee down on the nightstand and felt tears leak out of her eyes. She hadn't meant to hurt Sara with her words, but the words had obviously pushed one of the younger woman's many buttons. How could she keep hurting someone that she thought was a brilliant CSI, a great friend, and more importantly, a special woman?

"Special woman?" she muttered, wondering where that phrase had come from and what it could possibly mean. Obviously, she had some sort of feelings for Sara. Her brain seemed to be trying to make her see something that she felt was just out of her reach. Why couldn't she just say that she hated the woman and be done with it? Because you'd be lying to her and yourself was the immediate answer that her brain came up with. But why? That was the million dollar question wasn't it? Deep introspection was something that would have to wait as she heard the excited voice of her daughter calling for her to come downstairs.

She quickly changed into a pair of her own pants before deciding to continue to wear the borrowed shirt because it was somehow comforting during this entire process. She refused to think that it was because the shirt smelled like Sara and that was a grounding scent. It was simply a looser, more comfortable shirt than any that she owned. If she admitted that she liked the way that Sara's shirt smelled then she would have to admit that she was more than a little attracted to Sara.

She was so stuck in her own thoughts that she didn't realize how long she'd been standing in her own room until the doorbell rang. Pizza was here.

And she could avoid Sara no longer. Even though she had told the younger woman that she was ordering the pizza, she couldn't allow Sara to pay for it.

"I've got it!" She called out as she walked down the stairs to open the door to the delivery boy.

She got to the door seconds after Sara had, and went to go grab her wallet from her purse but when she had returned the door was closed and Sara was carrying the pizzas into the kitchen.

"Sara!" she exclaimed, "You didn't have to pay for the pizza!" Her sharp statement had startled the younger woman who had been expecting some other type of remark from the red head. Sara turned around to reply and took in Catherine's appearance.

"You really seem to like my shirt Willows, are you sure you're not going to steal it?" the deadpan way that Sara had said it made Catherine frown thinking that she perhaps she should have changed until she caught the way that the corner of Sara's mouth was raised.

Catherine was relieved that Sara had seemed to get over her careless remark rather quickly and decided to tease the younger woman back.

"I don't know, I don't think it would be called stealing. Maybe an exchange?" her slight smile had seemingly confused Sara.

"Exchange?" the brunette asked as she took a sip of soda.

Catherine looked around, and satisfied that Lindsay wasn't in hearing range leaned in to Sara to whisper.  
>"I think it's only fair. I mean, my panties are still at your place."<p>

The resulting spray of soda made Catherine giggle as she jumped out of the way. She flushed as she realized what she had just said and turned to grab pizza.

"I'm not going to clean that up Sidle. Make it fast, the movie is about to start." She spoke as she expertly balanced two plates of pizza and sodas in her arms. Where the hell had that come from she wondered as she walked into the living room.

Lindsay looked up at her mom as she came into the living room.

"What do you think Mom, The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast?" The girl held up two VHS movies and looked torn between them as she tried to decide.

"How about we watch Beauty and the Beast now and I'll watch the Little Mermaid when I come from work tomorrow hon?"

Lindsay seemed fine with that answer.  
>"As long as you promise you watch it right when you get home! And you can't fall asleep this time mom." Lindsay's finger was pointed at Catherine in a way so reminiscent of a scolding mother that Catherine laughed and promised.<p>

"Sara!" Lindsay whined, "The movie's starting! You have to come over here now." She pulled the brunette from the kitchen into the living room and pushed her into a seat to the left of Catherine as the little girl moved to sit on her mother's right side.

"So, what movie are we watching Linds?" Sara questioned as she took a bite of her pizza.

The answer she received came through sounds of chewing. "Bewty and the Beasht." Lindsay swallowed. "Its mom's favorite Disney movie I think."

Sara laughed as Catherine smiled guiltily and nibbled on her pizza. The older woman leaned into the couch as the opening scenes came on and she became engrossed in the movie. Sara was engrossed, not in the movie, but in watching the woman who sat next to her. As Belle sang her way through the town she noted how Catherine mouthed the words to the songs and hummed along. When Gaston made his first appearance, she gazed as Catherine sneered at the man and moved subtly closer to Sara, their sides touching.

Catherine found herself relaxing into the couch and feeling sleepier as the movie went on. She felt her head get heavier as she turned and laid it down on Sara's shoulder. She felt butterflies as she breathed in the scent of Sara from her position on her shoulder. This she thought, she could get used to this. Catherine squirmed as she came to the realization that she enjoyed this simple act of watching a movie with Sara more than she had on her last few dates. She was so wrapped up in her thinking that the appearance of the Beast onscreen made her jump slightly.

Sara turned to look at Catherine as she jumped in her seat. She whispered to the older woman.  
>"This scares you?" she teased<p>

"No!" Catherine exhaled. "I was just not paying… attention." Sara's breath tickled Catherine's ear even as she turned her attention back to the movie. Sara took Catherine's movement as a sign she was uncomfortable and shifted her arm behind her companion, pulling Catherine in closer.

Catherine's movements stopped as she felt Sara's arm wrap around her. The smile that the small action brought left no doubt in Catherine's mind. She was undoubtedly attracted to Sara Sidle. There was only one problem with that: she had yet to find out how Sara felt about her. However, if Sara's reactions were anything to go by, the younger woman was at least somewhat attracted to her.

Catherine snuggled into the warm body, slipping her arm around Sara's waist and resolved to enjoy the rest of the movie.

Nearly two hours later, the movie was over and there was a sleeping Lindsay on Catherine's right side and a content looking Sara Sidle to her left. She had a wide smile on her face and her thumb was gently rubbing Catherine's shoulder.  
>"I think it's time for me to put Lindsay to bed." Catherine's voice cut through the relaxed silence as she moved to pick her daughter up from the couch.<p>

"I've got her." Sara replied. "You just get ready for work and we'll head over to the lab." She stood and picked up the sleeping little girl from the couch.


	5. Crime Scene Investigation

**A/N: So, here is the fifth chapter in our girls' adventure. I still don't own CSI or any show. Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story so far. I know, I know, I keep putting off their talk, but more of this story seems to come out as I write. **

Sara let out a deep breath as she laid the little girl into her bed. She really needed to get a hold of herself before she did something really stupid and unappreciated like kiss Catherine. The fact that she was still at Catherine's house and that the older woman hadn't simply made her leave, but had in fact curled into Sara left her hoping for some sort of chance. Of course she knew that they would have to go and try to annul the marriage as soon as they both had the free time but—Sara's face drained of all color. That would take time and not only that, but it would be something that would happen at the courthouse where most people knew both her and Catherine. The gossip that would happen would be enough to end one or both of their careers, though once the records were filed at the courthouse there would likely be some gossip. They were screwed either way.

At least this time though, when Sara was got married it was to someone she knew would never hurt her. At least not in the way that left the crisscrossing marks and welts down her back from her childhood and first marriage. Not exactly the brightest thoughts to be thinking before going to work on another undoubtedly long and violent shift at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. She shook her head as she made her way downstairs to find Catherine sipping a mug of coffee.

"So, she's all tucked in and still fast asleep, Cath." Sara replied, breaking the older woman's thoughts.

Catherine blinked at Sara's speech, trying to distract herself from the thoughts she was having about her younger co-worker, of a decidedly non-friendly nature. It's not like she could help them. It seemed as though after finally admitting to herself that she was indeed attracted to Sara, her mind released the memories of their night and a few fantasies that Catherine had tried to bury deeply inside of the recesses of her mind.

"My mom should be here in about twenty minutes so we can go ahead and leave for the lab." Cat swallowed the last of her coffee and turned the cup upside down in the sink as she turned to face the brunette.

"Let's hope this shift will go by quickly." Catherine muttered as Sara walked out the door ahead of her.

"What did you say Cath?" Sara asked as she unlocked the Tahoe.

"Uh…" Catherine began, "Nothing, just talking to myself."

"You know they say talking to yourself is the first sign on insanity." Sara quipped as she turned to look at the older woman.

"Very funny Sidle." Catherine tried to look mad and failed, a genuine smile breaking her face.

Grissom walked into the break room, noting the quiet atmosphere and for once the lack of video games being played by Nick and Warrick. They were too busy staring at something on the opposite side of the room. The two women, normally so antagonistic were sharing personal space without one of them fuming at the other. They seemed to be having a friendly conversation, judging by the laughter coming from the corner. It was a sight that made Grissom pause with assignments in hand.

"Gil," a hand waved in front of his face, "is anyone home?"

When he didn't respond a giggle came from the couch and Catherine grabbed the assignments, looked over at the unusual sight of Sara Sidle giggling, and smiled at the younger woman, raising a blush from her cheeks.

"Nicky, you go to the Bellagio and take a 410. Warrick, you take a 419 at the Grande. Sara, you and I will go to Henderson and take the double homicide out there."

"Cath-" Grissom interrupted, "You can't-"

"Shut it Gil, we have two dead bodies. I'll see you after shift." Catherine turned to walk out of the room, Sara on her tail.

"But," Grissom was left looking around the room confusedly, "What just happened?"

Nick shared a look with Warrick, "Boss, I think the girls just want to work together today."

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Catherine laughed the entire way to the Tahoe, waiting for Sara to unlock the door.

"Did you see his face?" Catherine asked Sara as she buckled herself into the car.

Sara's laughter stopped and she smiled at the other woman, realizing just how much she enjoyed the sound of Catherine's laughter.

"I don't think he knew what was happening Cath, we hardly request to work with each other."

Catherine looked pensive for a moment then replied, "Well with everything that's going on I figured we could work together until we have that talk."

Sara's smile grew as she responded, "Trying to keep me from gossiping with the boys about my new hot wife?"

Catherine's tightening jaw line told Sara she'd hit a nerve with the older woman and Sara was quick to say more.

"Not that I would… I mean what's everyone going to think when someone like you winds up with someone like me? You could do so much better."

"Sara, anyone would be lucky to be married to you. It's just, for me, I thought I left that behind me when I quit the drugs and the dancing. Not that there's anything wrong with, just, with Lindsay and it's easier, you know, to date men. I don't want to make things any harder for my daughter. I mean I already used to be a stripper addicted to cocaine." Catherine's hands tightened on the steering wheel as she spoke and she glanced briefly at Sara before focusing on the dark road again.

Sara nodded sadly, "I get it, you want what's best for Lindsay, so this isn't in your plan. We'll have to do what we can to make sure we get everything handled quietly"

"Are you asking for a divorce Sara? We haven't even been on our honeymoon yet and you're ready to abandon this marriage, no wonder you think no one would want to marry you." Catherine joked to try and cheer up her colleague.

Sara's face tensed at Catherine's joke and she let out a half-hearted laugh.

"Hey," Catherine's hand reached out to Sara's and she gave it a squeeze, "you know I was joking right. I meant what I said about anyone being lucky to be married to you. I don't think we should get a divorce yet. But I'm not sure what I want Sara, it's hard."

With those confusing words, Catherine's hand was back on the steering wheel guiding the car towards the flashing police cars.

"We'll talk after this shift, though. I'm not going to let you get away with not ever speaking to me about it. Using your daughter as a distraction was a sneaky move though." Sara had a half smile on her face as she left the car.

"That's not- I wasn't trying to…" Catherine caught up to Sara as they worked the perimeter of the scene. "I wasn't trying to avoid it Sara."

This time Sara's smile was large and genuine, "I know, I was teasing you woman. I was there when she got home. You'd think after knowing me for three years you'd be able to tell the difference."

Catherine's surprised laughter made Detective Brass look up from the witness he was interviewing and stare at the two women. He'd never seem that close and carefree, let alone at a crime scene. He wondered what had changed between the last crime scene he'd seen them at a now. Not even twenty-four hours later and they were done with their frosty fight, looking for all the world like best friends.

"Women," he muttered turning back to witness, but not before his eye caught a glint of metal off Sara's hand. Now that was something he'd never have expected to see. He'd ask her when they got finished with the scene. Sara Sidle married!

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Brass waved Sara over, "Sidle, come here for a second." Sara shot a smile at Catherine who was packing up their kits and putting the evidence in the back of the Tahoe.

Sara raised her eyebrows at Brass, "You find anything out from that witness?"

The man gave Sara a serious look, "No, but I did notice something big." He waited, until it became clear Sara was not following his conversation.

"I see you have some new jewelry there." He pointed to Sara's left hand.

Sara laughed uneasily, "Yeah, that's a long story. I just hope it has a happy ending." She was staring at Catherine as she spoke, and an involuntary smile crossed her face.

"Well, I hope you have a happy marriage." Brass smiled at her, "Who's the lucky gal?"

Sara could have choked. She hadn't known anyone knew she was gay here in Nevada, well after last night, Catherine did, but she hadn't truly come out.

"I'll uh, I'll tell you later. We have to head back to the lab and get this evidence processed. Let's just say I'm lucky to have her."

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"So Brass seemed to want to talk to you over there," Catherine mentioned, seeing the look on Sara's face as she entered the Tahoe.

"Yeah, he uh," She stared at Catherine for a moment, "He saw my ring, and uh, wanted to know who I'd married."

"Annnnnddd," Catherine drawled with a mischievous smile, "What did you say?"

"I told him I would let him know later because we had to get back to the lab. I didn't know what to answer, I mean we haven't even talked about whether we'll stay to-" She was cut off by a warm hand squeezing hers, then fingering the ring on Sara's left hand.

"I know we haven't had time to talk much, but we will try. I know I obviously have some kind of feelings for you beyond friendship. We'll work it out Sara, we have to."

It wasn't the declaration that Sara wanted, but it was something, and if the woman next to her was willing to try, so was she.

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"Hey, are you ready?" The statement shook Sara from the microscope she was looking in, jostling the slide under the microscope.

"God Catherine, you scared me." Sara's hand was over her thumping heart.

Catherine's laugh rang through the empty lab as Sara hastily took one last look at the evidence, wrote everything down and locked it up.

"Now I am. Breakfast?" she queried, slipping into her leather jacket.

"Hmm… I can make pancakes at my place?" Catherine replied, leading the way out into the sunshine and to the car.

Sara's smile was immediate, "As long as I get to drive."


End file.
